Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Remember How Acid Rain Rules Destroyed the Economy?

When you're hearing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce complain about limits on industrial carbon pollution using discredited numbers, remember that more than two decades ago, polluters and their allies predicted limits on acid rain pollution would destroy the economy. How'd that work out?

Those limits on the sulfur pollution from coal-fired power plants that causes acid rain were part of the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990, the same legislation under which the Environmental Protection Agency is now limiting industrial carbon pollution. According to EDF, acid rain-causing emissions have gone down faster than predicted and at a fraction of the projected cost.

How much cheaper will cutting carbon pollution be than the Chamber of Commerce projects?